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Sunday, July 5, 2015

TRUTH IN FICTION -Using real history to create fiction

Post copyright 2015 by Doris McCraw

Writing historical fiction is great fun, but it's even more fun when you can add details that create a richer reality. In many cases writers use actual people, places and events to weave their stories around. Such was the case in my current work "Never Had A Chance" in the "Cowboy Celebration" anthology. I used the town of Pueblo, Colorado, an actual lawman by the name of Patrick Desmond and Teresita Sandoval.

Patrick Desmond was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1841 and died in Ogden, Utah in 1890. The years in between are the stuff of legends. At least according to some of what I found. According to the information from Pueblo, Patrick was quite the lawman. He was responsible for bringing in numerous outlaws, and was a member if the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. He arrested an Alamosa stage coach robber in Pueblo, and was involved in a stopping a counterfeit ring Pueblo. His luck was not always the best in his financial life. On Feb 1, 1884 the livery owned by Desmond was destroyed by fire for a loss of $14,000. Insurance only covered $4,500. Desmond met his demise in Ogden, Utah at the hands of Thomas Todd, a former bartender at the "Bucket of Blood" saloon in Pueblo. In an altercation Todd shot and killed Desmond, but was only given a four year sentence, which he served in the state of Utah. (Todd returned to Colorado after his sentence and continued his violent streak.)

Maria Teresa 'Teresita' Sandoval,http://bit.ly/1GXxlP9, is an early pioneer woman everyone should know. Born in New Mexico in 1811, she married at a young age and moved to Colorado. She met Matthew Kinkead and moved with him to Ft. Pueblo, where she helped run fort and trading business. When Kinkead left for California with their son, Teresita moved in with her daughter, Cruzita and her husband in the Arkansas River Valley. There she took control of her daughters property after the death of Cruzita's husband. Teresita died in 1894. http://bit.ly/1fby74ihttp://bit.ly/1fby74i

Pueblo, Colorado itself is a great story. Early on the area at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, was drawing settlers. In 1806, Zebulon Pike built a stockade there when he famously tried to climb the peak that now bears his name. Ft. Pueblo was a business fort similar to Bent's fort. In 1854 they suffered the Christmas Eve Massacre, and to this day no one has learned what really happened. Wm. Jackson Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, located his Colorado Coal and Iron company, latter known as Colorado Fuel and Iron there. Prior or WWII it was the first and only steel mill west of St. Louis, Missouri. Even in modern times, Pueblo is known as the "Home of Heroes". President Eisenhower was quoted as saying, while presenting Raymond G. 'Jerry' Murphy his medal of honor, "What is it...something in the water out here in Pueblo? All you guys turn out to be heroes!" In 1993 Scott McInnis read into the congressional record that Pueblo was the only city to have four living Medal of Honor recipients from the same hometown.

Below is a excerpt from "Never Had A Chance" second in the Agate Gulch stories, found in the "Cowboy Celebration" anthology. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the anthology in a drawing on Wednesday July 8, 2015.

**********

The smell of unfamiliar food cooking pulled Tom back from oblivion. His
mind tried to process what he was smelling; a pungent, smoky smell.
Immediately, his stomach started growling as though it had been empty for
some time. Moving to rise and follow the smells, Tom found his left arm tied to
his chest. A pain shot through his upper left chest and shoulder, followed by a
stinging in his right leg; but none of those irritants compared to the throbbing
behind his eyes, up through the top of his head and down the back of his neck.
He took a deep breath to calm the panic he was beginning to feel.

h

Where was he, why was he restrained? That thought was swiftly followed
with the question that pushed Tom into full panic. Who was he?

Fighting the pain, Tom rolled to the right, moving to the edge of the bed.
He was in a bed. The knowledge calmed him somewhat, but he still needed to
find the answers to his questions. He'd almost made it to a sitting position when
the door opened.

So, you are awake," the male voice stated. A voice with a Spanish accent.
"I will send for the doctor; in the meantime, you lie back down," he continued,
as he pushed Tom back toward the pillow. "Please, stay here until the doctor
says otherwise. I do not want you doing anything that will require you to stay
longer." So saying, the man quickly went out the door, closing it firmly.

Until next month, happy reading and enjoy your summer, and be sure to check out "Home For His Heart" the first in the Agate Gulch series of stories.

Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris lives in Colorado and focuses on Colorado and Women's History. Currently, when not writing fiction, she is researching the women doctors who practiced medicine in Colorado prior to 1900. She also publishes a haiku and photo five days a week. You can view them at: http://bit.ly/1dVnNwO

13 comments:

I'm reading this anthology at the moment! I finished Bev's last night, and yours is next. Isn't this great that we connected at this moment? So far, the stories have been just wonderful, and I expect yours to be, also, by the excerpt you chose. I hope to finish the collection soon and will post a review for all of you. Hope your Sunday is nice and restful.

Celia, talk about synchronicity. I'm so glad you are enjoying the stories, and appreciate the beauty of your reviews.

After a very busy weekend at work, tourists you know, I'm hoping for a quieter week. Still, I do love the people and their stories. Hope your fourth was a pleasant one, and the rest of the week even better than the last. Doris

Doris, including real history in a fictional story does give a "real feel." Enjoyed your excerpt. If it's any indicator of how the rest of your story reads, I know it will be fantastic. A story with an Irishman in it is always going to attract my attention. LOLI wish you continued success with all that you do.

Sarah, I'm with you on the Irishman. Although a 'minor' character, when I was writing him, it just seemed to fill out the story. Thank you for the well-wishes. I seem to have found another passion, writing. (Grin) Doris

What happened to him? How did he get there? Who is he? Nice excerpt. Sounds like PRP has themselves another wild roundup. The cover looks good too. Congratulations. Can't wait to read the new wild west tales.

I enjoyed the post very much, Doris. I love the Pueblo area and always enjoy learning more about it. For my family history, I did a lot of research at the Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo since my father navigated B-24s, the type of plane built there during WWII. At one time my husband and I considered moving there to get closer to our Colorado grandchildren. But, even though I suspect we will finish our lives living in California, I always enjoy learning about Colorado history.

That is so cool that you have connections to Pueblo. Although I live in Colorado Springs, I also love the history that town has. Glad you enjoyed this small 'history' lesson. Here's to many more. (Smile) Doris

I always enjoy your posts, Doris. Colorado has such colorful history and I'd love to see more books set there. Looking forward to reading your story in the anthology, but I haven't even opened it yet. All the PRP anthologies have been wonderful and this one looks awesome, too!

Jacquie, Thank you. I love Colorado and usually set my stories there. They say write what you know, well at least I know Colorado. I do hope you enjoy this edition of the anthology. I know my story was so fun to write.Of course, I'm not sure how to set a medieval in Colorado, but at least I can put in a few mountains. (Grin)Thakns you for stopping by. Here is to a summer of reading and writing. Doris

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PRP is a publishing company devoted to publishing westerns and western romances written by women.

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS was opened in August, 2013, by LIVIA J. WASHBURN and CHERYL PIERSON, two authors who saw a need for such an imprint. Usually, when people think “westerns” they think of male authors and male readers—but that’s not true in today’s world. Many women are just as interested in reading—and writing—westerns as their male counterparts; and of course, western romance has always been popular among the ladies!